Days of Summer
- Salvatore Zofrea

“…I was inspired to create this series of images by becoming aware  of the abundance of beauty in the flora and fauna around us. I have become very conscious of the variety, subtlety and grandeur of each form of life; and I hope that viewers will respond to these images in the same way.”

Salvatore Zofrea’s online exhibition Days of Summer is a culmination of over twenty years of printmaking and comprises 40 woodcut prints of Australian fauna and flora. This particular set has been painted by the artist using lapis lazuli. It coincides with the 15-year anniversary of the immensely successful Days of Summer exhibition first exhibited in 2008 by Mosman Art Gallery, Maitland Regional Art Gallery then showed Days of Summer in 2009 and toured the exhibition nationally.

Zofrea uses the very distinct Australian landscape as his inspiration to express the exuberance of life and his ‘wonder at the manifestation of God’. This series of works, featuring native flowers and birds, presents the life, colour and movement found in the bushland close to his studio at Kurrajong in the lower Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

The Days of Summer prints are bursting with life and colour. Printed on Japanese Kozo, Mulberry and Hitachi paper, the prints are delicately hand coloured by the artist. The precious pigment lapis lazuli is later applied to the print to give it the vibrancy so characteristic of the Australian landscape.

An extensive collection of Zofrea’s work is currently on view at Clayton Utz, including his iconic 30 metre long work, “Midday’, depicting wildflowers in the shimmering Australian light, in partnership with 3:33 art projects.

Information about the exhibition can be found at 333artprojects.com.

Watch Salvatore Zofrea discussing lapis lazuli in his works